# Ivan Bodiul Era Begins (1961–1980)

URL: https://allhistories.com/moldova/timeline/1961-ivan-bodiul-era-begins
Location: Chișinău
Themes: Rulers & Successions

After Brezhnev's departure Moldavia was led by Dimitri Gladki and then Zinovie Serdiuk. In May 1961 Ivan Bodiul, an agronomist born in 1918 in the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine who had risen through the Moldavian party apparatus, became First Secretary of the Communist Party of Moldavia. Bodiul held the post from 28 May 1961 until 30 December 1980, the longest tenure of any Soviet leader of the republic. His years coincided with the Brezhnev era in Moscow. The economy grew: agriculture was organised into large specialised agro-industrial complexes, irrigation and the heavy use of fertilisers and pesticides were expanded, and new factories rose in Chișinău, Bălți, Tiraspol and Bender. At the same time Bodiul firmly promoted the idea of a Moldovan nation separate from the Romanians, rejected Romanian claims about the unity of the two peoples in 1966, and supported the anti-religious policies that closed many churches. Dissidents and 'nationalists' were imprisoned or punished, especially in the 1960s and early 1970s. In December 1980 Bodiul was promoted to Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and was succeeded in Chișinău by Semion Grossu. He retired in 1985 and died in Moscow in 2013. His legacy is contested: remembered by some for modernisation and stability, by others for Russification and repression.

## Why it matters
Bodiul's long rule shaped the economy, identity policies and elite of Soviet Moldavia during its period of greatest stability.

Ruler at the Time: [Ion Codiță](https://allhistories.com/moldova/rulers/ion-codita)

Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Moldavian SSR: Alexandru Diordiță (Communist Party of Moldavia)
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Moldavia: Zinovie Serdiuk (Communist Party of Moldavia)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Ivan Bodiul](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Bodiul)
- [RFE/RL Moldova](https://www.rferl.org/)
- [Wikipedia — Soviet Moldavia (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldavian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic)